we have to say, we are in shock... we just lost an elder, who was pivotal to our youth. every saturday we would get up, excited to watch other young people dance to the latest songs on 'soul train'; and to hear its host, don cornelius with his deep, silky voice announce the guests. cornelius had a dream to represent a people who he felt were not properly represented through media; and his dream was fulfilled with persistence and hard work. 'soul train' was unmistakable in connecting communities all over the nation- and eventually, world.
and now, mr. cornelius upon his transcendence has met the ancestors... and we at 'guess who's coming to radio??!!' want to take the time to honor him. we actually have honored soul train as a cultural entity on the show, but never mr. cornelius directly- that is, we never fully featured that silky tone emanating from his vocal chords. on this evening we will feature his distinguished bass, playing some interviews from 'the hippest trip in america'. and of course, we will play some of the artists who have had the opportunity of sharing time and energy with mr. cornelius.
paula the small (of 'paula's picks') dedicated her show to the one-time 'compatriot' in radio for the winter membership drive; we are going to continue the dedication, in showing what he meant to us. there is no singular way to honor a person whose magnitude for cultural expression was so great.
we do want to take a little time to discuss (again) the effects of depression, as mr. cornelius left this earth due to an apparent suicide. we will acknowledge due to our OWN history with depression, that mr. cornelius' transcendence triggered a lot in us. however, we do not want that to get in the way of the celebration of his life and works.
thank you for wishing us "love, peace and SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUL" all of these years, don cornelius.